I need help on a custom strat!

ive built a strat from scratch and ive put it all together, but the strings hit the neck closest to the headstock. ive raised the bridge saddles but that doesnt help. the necks a duluxe series and the bodys a standard strat. help me! lol :(

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Posted by Slacker G on Wed, 09/03/2008 - 13:51.

guyguitargeezmo,

Excuse the obvious stuff here, but I do not know how much you know.

Several things to check. Is the nut too short? The strings should sit about 1/16 above the first fret height.

Check for a bow in the neck between the 5th fret and the nut. If there is a hump you can try this. If you have a truss rod slack it all the way off , Tighten the strings back up to pitch and then check to see if the bow is still there.

If the bow is still there, you may be able to get it out by putting a block of wood on the fret side of the neck. Then use two thin blocks of wood to form a bridge support against the rear of the neck. Pad them so you do not indent the back of the neck when you apply pressure. Then put another heavy block of wood behind the neck, on top of the two small pieces to form a bridge.

Take a "C" clamp, set it in the center of the bow and apply pressure to the blocks of wood. That should pull the fingerboard side of the neck towards the rear blocks, bending the neck in the opposite direction of the bow. After a day or so check to see if the warp is straightened out. If it went too far the other way, no problem. The truss rod will take care of that.

A friend of mine used to place the neck on the floor between two small books and stand on it to get out warps. But he owned the music store so if it didn't work he could send the neck back. I prefer the more subtle way described above.